I've continued to meet with this fellow at church who needs a sign language interpreter. I've been madly cramming as many signs into my head as I can (about 200 this week) using some great videos on YouTube by Learn How to Sign. They are also developing a handy website Learnhowtosign.org. I was also steered toward an online sign language dictionary specific to my church, so I can figure out some of the less-common vocabulary ("Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles" anyone?).
He has been very patient and encouraging as I've struggled, teaching me some signs and telling me to be patient and persevere. Meanwhile, he snatches my books from my hands to read them and writes down scripture references to tuck in his pocket, and just absorbs as much information as he can. He's eager to learn, and I feel the pressing need to open that door for him to do it, but I wish I could do it more coherently. I'm exploring some other resources for him that would do a far better job than I.
On the other side of this, I've looked into what it would take to become an ASL interpreter. At least three years and lots of money, which I don't have. Possibly having to relocate to Nova Scotia for training. So...maybe I'll stick to YouTube for now and learn on my own as much as I can. Maybe there are online study groups I could join, for practice.
And I now know the sign for "practice," which I expect to use a lot.
No comments:
Post a Comment